Couch Confessions
by 11nagrom
Summary: Set after the end scene of 5x10. "It is what I want. I just want to be with you. It's all I've wanted since I met you." Going to be a three-part ficlet.
1. Chapter 1

Just a one-shot of Jane and Maura realizing they have feelings for each other set continuing from the sofa scene at the end of 5x10. It's cute, I think. Enjoy:)

* * *

Jane and Maura watched meaningless television as hours passed. Every twenty minutes or so, they would change sitting positions. Sometimes it was minimal changes and sometimes quite substantially. At one point Jane had her legs across Maura's lap and the medical examiner was massaging her calves. They alternated in positions. It was mostly Jane that wanted them to shift. She couldn't stop fidgeting. She just couldn't stop thinking.

They were sitting in their primary position beside one another when Maura noticed her friend's hand shaking. It had been lightly resting on her lap, carelessly facing upwards in her relaxed position. The pathologist looked up at her dark eyes. Jane was forcing herself to stare at the television but her eyes were watery and she was biting her lip to stop it shaking. Maura had been waiting for this. Wondering when she'd cry.

Maura comfortingly picked up her hand and cradled it in her own. "You don't have to stop yourself. You can cry if you need to." She said softly. It seemed like Jane was fighting so hard not to. Her brow furrowed and she looked at Maura sadly.

"I never even met it. I don't know why I even care." She said with anger at herself. She seemed irritated that these tears had formed, like it wasn't worth her tears. She felt so weak and pathetic whenever she cried. All those tears wasted on Hoyt had done that to her.

"Jane it was part of you for quite a while. It is perfectly acceptable to mourn it. I can tell how much that baby meant to you." She stroked her hand with her thumbs.

Jane looked at her and bit her trembling lip again. Maura met her eye with a sad expression. It was painful to watch her friend in pain. _Why do bad things always happen to good people? _Maura thought to herself. Jane had been saving someone's life for god's sake! What was it- a life for a life now?

"It sucks." Jane said dismally. "It fucking sucks."

Maura looked at her sadly and nodded. She couldn't begin to comprehend how she felt but she knew that Jane was suffering. Despite how hard she was trying to cover it up. "What do you need?" The doctor asked, stroking a curly strand of dark hair away from Jane's face.

Jane looked at her for a moment and then glanced away again. "I don't know- I don't know what I need Maura." She said dejectedly. "I feel like I need everything and I want nothing at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Maura asked.

"I feel like I need to be just held for a while but then I also don't want my mom to touch me. Everything is like that. All jumbled up and opposites." Jane looked at her with upset frustration.

"Well how about you just listen to what you need. Ignore the doubts. That's probably more important to making you feel better. If you isolate yourself you'll just start to feel worse." She said softly, hoping that what she was saying was helpful.

Jane looked at her and nodded. She lightly stroked the fluffy blanket with her free hand. Maura always had such nice things in her house. She had all the things that Jane wanted without her even knowing she wanted them.

"I think you're right Maur. I'll try listen to those instead of both."

"Okay." Maura nodded. "So tell me. What do you need right now?"

Jane thought for a moment and then shook her head to herself. "No I just sound stupid. I sound like a pathetic child, not a cop."

"Maybe you can turn off badass cop mode just for a little while. I don't care what you sound like anyway. I care about my friend and her feeling better." She said to her honestly. "So try me. I'll see which ones we can manage and I promise I won't think that what you say it 'pathetic' or anything like that. I bet everything you ask is perfectly okay Jane."

Jane nodded. "I'm just going to be honest. You're not going allowed to use this against me at a later time." She lightly smiled.

"I would never." Maura said assertively.

Jane nodded, appreciating her quick response. She wiped her wet eyes and then began to speak, a little hesitant at first. "Like I said, I don't know- I feel like I need to be held for a while… it's stupid really-" She said uncomfortably.

"No it's not. Please continue with your list." She urged her. Maura picked up the remote and muted the TV. She needed quiet.

Jane raised her shoulders shyly. "I feel like I need to actually take this all in. It's like it hasn't hit yet and when it does it'll hit me hard. I tried to distract myself with work but I don't think that's working anymore. At night I get all these stupid thoughts that I'm a failure, I'm self- destructive, a ticking time bomb and that how the hell was a baby supposed to survive living inside of that. I think that I would have been a crap mother anyway, that maybe… that maybe this was better." She said weightlessly. "That even though it hurts now, it would have hurt the child way more if it'd had to grow up with me. I'd just screw things up or put them in danger. Homicide detectives don't get happy endings."

Maura sat and listened with a concerned look on her face. "No that's not true Jane. You would have been a fantastic mother. You still could be one day. A child would be lucky to have you." Jane wiped at her wet eyes and appreciatively nodded.

When Jane had been speaking Maura had so badly wanted to interrupt and disagree but she decided to let Jane go on. It was clear that Jane just wanted to spit these confessions out and be done with them. That maybe sharing them would take away some of the sting.

Jane sighed. "These thoughts wouldn't get to me if it was any other time of day y'know, but it's just there in the dark when I'm all alone, it's kind of hard not to believe them."

Maura nodded with understanding. She was haunted with similar thoughts occasionally. _How would the Queen of the Dead ever be able or raise a living, breathing baby? _She was so comforted by dead people; she felt that she was clueless when it came to the ones with their hearts still beating. Would it be the same if she were to have children one day? Would she feel equally as out of her depth? She shook away the thoughts. This was absolutely not the time to be thinking about herself. This was time to think about Jane and to help her in any way she could.

"Jane you would have been a wonderful mother and I don't think you're a time bomb at all. You're just someone earning a living and doing her best to do the right thing all the time. Just like everyone else you deserve the chance to be a mother. You'd be an excellent mom anyway. I've seen how you are with TJ."

Jane looked at her appreciatively and nodded. "Thanks Maura."

"So to recap: so far on your list, you'd like to be held. We can certainly do that one. What else do you need right now?"

"Ice-cream."

Maura gave her a soft smile. "Your mother said she was going to the store before she got back, I'll text and ask her to pick some up for you."

Jane nodded. "Thanks."

"What else?"

"I need my best friend to stop worrying because she's been doing a great job by just being herself anyway."

Maura smiled. "I haven't really done anything."

"Yes you have and you've just been yourself and been there for me when I needed you. That's all I really wanted from anyone. Just to be themselves and not act differently around me."

Maura nodded. "I suppose I'll do my best to continue then."

"You're always so great to me Maura. You find a positive in everything and at difficult times it's all anyone could really ask for, a friend like you. We're all very lucky." Jane said meaningfully.

Maura raised her eyebrows but shook her head modestly. "We're the lucky ones Jane."

This brought tears to Jane's eyes. Appreciatively, the detective leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her best friend, holding her close. Maura held her tight, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I love you Maura." Jane said softly as they pulled away.

Maura smiled. "I love you too, Jane."

"Please will you hold me now?"

"You don't want it to be your mother to do that?"

"Not when I have you. You make the cut Maur." Jane said fondly. "If that's okay of course."

"Yes, of course! Come here then." Maura smiled and gestured to her own body. With the blanket still embracing her legs, Jane shifted her body around so that she was sideways and the paused.

Maura looked at her willingly. "I'll cross my legs and you can sit in the middle if you like." She suggested, doing as she'd described. Jane nodded and carefully shifted into the gap of Maura's crossed legs. She was facing sideways now away from the TV but she didn't care because she was getting what she needed. She leaned her body against Maura's torso and the pathologist leaned back against the sofa. She pulled the woolly blanket up over Jane's whole body so that only her head resting on her shoulder was still visible. Jane felt warm and safe.

Maura rubbed her back over the blanket and planted a caring kiss on her forehead. "Is this what you had in mind?" She asked softly. Jane relaxed against her and rested her hand on Maura's hip. Her forehead was against the medical examiner's warm neck and she'd never felt so close to someone and safe in her whole life. Even her mom didn't hug as well as this.

"Yes, this is exactly what I meant." Jane nodded. She couldn't reach her cheek so she placed a slow kiss on Maura's neck. The doctor raised her eyebrows momentarily and then shook away any ridiculous thought.

"What was that for?" She asked instead.

"It was just for being you." Jane responded and placed a kiss on her neck again, this time it lingered a little longer. Maura's brow furrowed. This was just friendship. This was just her saying thank you and she couldn't access her cheek. It didn't mean anything significant. _Stop over-thinking_, she chastised herself.

Maura craned her neck and looked down at Jane. She was about to say something when all of her thoughts were shattered. Jane leant upwards and their lips connected. They kissed for a long moment and then both pulled away with mutually confused expressions.

Maura sat up with her back straight and looked at her. "What was that?" She asked. Jane shifted off from her lap and sat beside her, still with the blanket over them both.

"I don't know." She said quietly. "I'm sorry. You were looking after me and I got caught in the moment. I'm sorry."

Maura softly smiled and shook her head. "It's okay you really don't have to apologise. Jane, do we need to talk about something?" She asked.

Jane averted her eyes. "I don't know." She said unsurely. "Wait. You kissed me back." Her gaze returned to Maura.

"I guess I did. I do think we need to talk about this Jane."

"I don't know what to say Maur. I said I'm sorry. It just happened. What else is there to say?"

"Is that all, it just happened? Jane if you have some other feelings then we should talk about this." Maura didn't want to let on that she may share those feelings. She didn't want to make an idiot of herself if Jane really had meant nothing by the kiss.

"Maura I really don't want to talk about that. That's just another part of my fucked up life."

Maura sat up further. "What are you talking about? Please talk to me Jane."

Jane sighed frustratedly and rubbed her forehead. "You'll hate me and I don't think I can handle that right now. I need you in my life too much to fuck this up with something stupid like this."

"Jane you're not making any sense!" Maura said with more desperation.

Jane looked at her worried face. Why was she getting so upset over this? It was just a kiss, it didn't have to mean anything if she didn't want it to. Why couldn't they just get past it and forget about the whole thing? Jane had feelings for her and Maura was as straight as a ruler. It was as simple as that. What good could possibly come out of this?

"Stop getting upset." Jane said softly. "Look you're obviously freaked out about this, just forget it okay? It doesn't have to mean anything Maura."

"Jane are you trying to tell me you have feelings for me?"

"Maura please don't. This will just change things, probably for the worst and I don't want to do that. I'm happy the way things are now. I can't- I can't do this without you so please stop now. Let's just forget any of this happened." Jane sighed frustratedly and ran her hands back through her hair.

"Jane I'm taking that at a yes. Please stop being so scared. I'm not going to just leave you. You're not- you're not entirely alone in this."

Jane looked up at her. "What?"

Maura sighed and crossed her arms. "I hope I'm not making a fool out of myself. I've probably gotten in all wrong anyway. Jane I have quite strong feelings for you and you kissed me. It may have meant nothing, it may just be a friendship kiss. I don't know. I don't have that much experience with the whole best friend thing. I still don't really understand the rules and I think I cross them all the time-"

"I want you to cross them." Jane said softly. Her eyes were wide and dark. "I can't believe you have feelings for me. How- how long?" She asked nervously.

Maura bit her lip and looked down at her lap. "Since you shot yourself to save Frankie. When you were in hospital that's when I realised. I thought I was going to lose you and my whole world fell apart. I realised that I loved you far more than a friend should." She said sadly.

Jane's eyes widened. "Maura that was nearly four years ago! What about all those guys you've dated?"

"With everything that happened with you and Agent Dean and then everything happening with Casey I thought it was pretty clear the gender you were interested in. I thought that I was being ridiculous and decided that all I was ever going to get was you as a friend and I'd just have to get over that. So I dated guys to fill that gap. I figured it was better than just being pathetic and pining after you. If felt childish and selfish. You deserved to be happy. You still do."

"Jesus Christ why didn't you just tell me this! I've been beating myself up for so long about my feelings for you and we could have dealt with this for this whole time?"

"You didn't tell me either. What about Casey?"

"I did exactly the same thing as you. I tried to get over it with other people and just enjoy spending time with you as my friend. It wasn't what I wanted but it was enough for quite a while."

"I guess we've both been secretly miserable then."

"Yeah it's kind of funny I suppose, neither of us knowing we liked one another."

Maura nodded and gave a light chuckle.

"You know this doesn't have to be a bad thing. Isn't this what we both wanted, for the other person to feel the same way?" Jane asked.

Maura nodded. "Yes, this is certainly not a bad thing. I don't know why we are being so miserable about it. I suppose we can have what we both want now- if you'd want to of course."

"It is what I want. I just want to be with you. It's all I've wanted since I met you."

"Then what's stopping us being together?" Dr Isles said softly. Jane smiled and slowly leant forward. They moved closer and closer with anticipation until their lips finally met. This kiss was unlike the previous one. This kiss was full of relief. They felt like they were both allowed to actually enjoy it now.

Once they decided to stop for a rest, Jane smiled against her lips. "I do love you Maura and more than a friend should."

"I know Jane. I love you too." She wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and embraced her tightly. The detective smiled and rested her mouth on Maura's shoulder, placing a kiss there despite the block of clothing.

Maura smiled and slowly pulled her down onto the couch. They were both lying down now, Jane's body covering half of Maura's. The medical examiner grabbed the blanket and pulled it over them both. Jane smiled and rested her head on Maura's collar bone, one hand flat against Maura's ribcage. They both closed their eyes and just enjoyed the embrace. Individually, they both felt so happy and so relieved. Like a weight had been lifted and they could actually breathe again. With their shared exhaustion and comfortable positions, they both quickly fell asleep in each other's arms.

Half and hour or so later, Angela's voice woke Maura up. "Janie!" She called out into the house. "I thought you'd want to some unhealthy food so I picked some things up for you on the way back. I'll just place them down on the counter here." She continued loudly as she entered the kitchen and placed a bag down. She looked over at the living room and her face softened. She walked over to the couch and sat down on the coffee table, looking at Maura.

The medical examiner blinked slowly at her. She was still holding Jane close. The blanket was like a fluffy third person wrapped around them. Maura looked at her sleepily with a fairly neutral expression.

"Maura, sweetheart you look exhausted." Angela said lovingly. She reached forward and lightly stroked Maura's cheek for a second and then hesitated, pulling away.

Maura gave her a soft smile. "It's okay Angela. You don't have to be wary of physical contact. You're like a mother to me. I feel comfortable around you."

Angela smiled. "Thank you. You're more of a daughter to me than Janie sometimes." She chuckled. She looked down at Jane who was breathing softly against Maura's upper chest. "Is she okay? Are you okay?" She had a furrowed brow. "You look upset Maura."

Maura shook her head sleepily. "It's just been a long night, that's all. I'm happy. I'm not upset I'm just really tired."

"Do you want me to get Janie off you?"

"No not at all. I like having her here." Maura gestured this by stroking her back.

Angela nodded. "You two are closer than usual. Did something happen tonight?"

"What do you mean?" The medical examiner asked feeling a little alarmed.

"Did she get upset or did something bad happen to make the two of you cuddle like this? You only really hug when one of you needs one so what happened for this to happen?" She looked a little worried.

"Nothing bad happened, I promise. We just both needed a hug I guess." Maura lightly shrugged to her from where she was laying.

"Did you two kiss?" She asked casually.

"What?" Maura's eyes widened. "How did you- how did you know?"

Angela's face lit up. "I didn't know! I was just testing you. Oh that makes me very happy Maura. I know how long Jane has had feelings for you. Maybe now she'll stop being such a misery-guts now in general."

Dr Isles was quite astounded by everything that had just been revealed and how easy it was for Angela to work it out. She opened her mouth and closed it again, not really knowing what to say.

"Don't you worry sweetheart. I won't tell Janie I know. I'm just happy for you both. She's lucky to have you." Angela leaned down and placed a kiss on Maura's forehead. "You're already a member of this family anyway so nothing will really change."

Maura smiled, feeling loved. "Thank you Angela. It means a lot."

Angela gave her a single nod. "Anytime honey. Now I bought some ice-cream along with some other snacks for you two. I'm just going to the ice-cream it in the freezer okay?"

Maura nodded. She hadn't even asked Angela to get Jane that ice-cream. She'd just known to get it. She couldn't have chosen a family to join if she'd had the option of ten thousand to choose from. She felt more than blessed.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for your feedback. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The sun was already in the sky as Angela carefully opened the front door to Maura's house. She often made cups of coffee to share with the medical examiner before she'd have to leave for work. It felt like a kind gesture and she always appreciated everything that Maura had done for her so she liked do something to show for it. It was hard to imagine life without the friendly doctor being there to support her daughter or even herself sometimes.

Maura Isles felt like a godsend. '_What a sweet girl' _is whatAngela had thought after seeing her for the first time when the pair's friendship had just begun. Maura was by far the politest friend Jane had ever had however she didn't have stiff competition on that front.

The Rizzoli matriarch was just about to enter the kitchen when she noticed something. She curiously stepped into the living room area. Her face broke into a smile and raised her eyebrows as she saw the pair still present asleep on the sofa. _Really?_ She thought to herself. She'd figured that Maura would send them up to bed as soon as she'd left-Apparently not.

The same white fluffy blanket was still over them and Jane's forehead was comfortably against Maura's cheek. They looked extremely cramped but rather cosy. Angela chuckled and walked back to the kitchen.

She prepared the coffee as she always did using Maura's coffee machine. It was nine-thirty, two hours later than their usual coffee time but it was in fact a Saturday. Not that that ever stopped either her daughter or the doctor going to the Bpd that day if they were called in. Both her daughter and the medical examiner didn't seem to understand the meaning of time off. She'd seen her daughter's schedule this week and Jane was meant to be going to the precinct at twelve to do paperwork anyway.

Weekends seemed to mean so little to workaholics. They were simply an inconvenience for some. Not her. Angela loved weekends. Relaxing, daytime television and finally seeing all of her children in one house (obviously with the addition of Maura) always made her weekend worth looking forward to.

Angela suddenly cringed at the loud whirs and hisses the coffee machine made, breaking the peaceful silence of their breathing. Jane opened her eyes slowly and Maura yawned as she began to wake up. The doctor smiled as she saw the familiar long eyelashes and dark eyes.

"Hi." Maura said quietly with a content smile. Was this really happening? She felt overjoyed to be where she was in that precise moment. How had her dreams come true? She thought that was all they were and all they'd ever be.

"Hi." Jane's smiled. It reached her eyes, lighting them up.

"I have dreamt about this kind of moment for so long." The pathologist said quietly.

"Me too," Jane said, so close her lips were practically ghosting along her cheek. "I can't believe we slept like this on the couch all night. Our backs are going to be so sore when we get up."

Maura smiled, not fazed by the prospect of back pain at all. "It's worth it, getting to be so close to you all night," she said softly.

Jane looked at her lovingly, touched by her words. "You really are beautiful inside and out Maura Isles. I'm proud to wake up next to you. You're beyond words sometimes, you know."

"What do you mean?" Maura asked quietly.

Jane blinked slowly through long eyelashes and looked at her. "It's hard to describe. Sometimes I look at you or see you do something and realise that I simply could not sum you up with adjectives if someone asked to. I just don't think it's possible. When I think of you I think of springtime and the morning sun and flowers. You make me think of people laughing and colourful balloons flying up in the air. What I mean to say is that I can't describe you even to myself with just a few adjectives. I have to use experiences to even begin to explain the type of person you are."

Angela stood silently in the kitchen in awe. She didn't want this moment to end. Thankfully the coffee machine had finished its process before the pair had the chance to want to investigate the noise. She didn't think she'd ever get to experience a rare moment like this again. Hearing one of her children speak to the person they love with pure honesty was a beautiful thing. She savoured this moment and she knew that Jane would probably notice her presence and attack her with irritation at any second. But she honestly didn't care. This was worth it. She couldn't even see them, only hear their soft words.

Maura stared at her in silence for a moment. "I think that is the most beautiful thing someone has ever said to me." She replied softly. She felt quite moved and that she didn't know what else to say. Maura ran the back of her finger along the detective's cheek. "I told you last night and I'll say it again: I love you Jane. I really do, with all my heart."

Jane nodded. She leaned forward and softly kissed Maura's lips. She placed her hand against her jaw and Maura shifted her body so that she had more access. Jane smiled against her mouth. "I love you too. I am so completely in love with you Maura Isles." She said quietly.

Angela stood there with tears in her eyes, mentally cursing herself to not make any noise. Not a sniff, not a cough, not even an audible exhale. She was intending on leaving as soon as possible but not in this second. She could stay for another minute, couldn't she?

Maura smiled wide. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She felt like she would wake up at any second just like she had so many times before. "You're making me lose my train of thought Jane. I can't think straight." She said softly.

"Was that a pun?" Jane smirked. Maura thought for a moment and then laughed as she got it.

"No. That was not intentional." She chuckled. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"You're so cute." Jane said quietly. "Come here." She opened up her arms and pulled Maura into a close embrace. The pathologist laughed and held her tightly. At this point Angela decided she'd try and creep back to the guest house. She'd already listened to their moment; she didn't want to risk hearing them do anything else…

Also they deserved their space. She knew she'd already been unintentionally intrusive enough for one day. Once on the outside, she slowly pulled the front door shut, she listened for the click and then crept into the guest house. Thank god she pulled that off.

* * *

It was 7pm and Korsak, Frankie, Tommy, Nina, Jane, Maura and now Angela were all present in Maura's house. They were having a chilled out evening with some beers and calm music. They were meant to be having an overdue celebration for Jane's return to work but she had told them she did not want it to be a big deal. For once Maura had actually followed her instruction and so here they were with their calm gathering.

Tommy, Nina and Frankie were all laughing on the couch with a beer occupying each of their hands. Frankie had invited Nina along and they were all quite thankful for that. Nina seemed like a nice person, one of which they were all happy to spend time with.

Jane and Maura spent most of the evening together. They were close but not too close. They didn't have anything against it and they knew it would be inevitable at some point but they didn't care for telling everyone about their new established relationship just yet. They thought they'd just let everyone find out one by one for themselves anyway. It was getting more and more obvious, they'd guess soon enough anyway.

Jane and Korsak were sat at the kitchen counter enjoying a beer each. Maura and Angela were the only ones in the whole house who had upgraded to wine. Everyone else was perfectly happy with their beers. Well except for Jane who had just run out of hers.

"One sec, I'm just gonna get another cold one." Jane gave her empty bottle a light shake to Korsak. He smiled and nodded. She got down and went around the large counter. Maura and Angela were happily chatting in the corner. That made her a little nervous. What did those two have to talk about?

As she approached, she heard her mother say "Well Janie can be real lazy. But you probably already know that. If anyone could you'd be the one who could whip her into shape." She stated matter-of-factly. She looked up and pulled an awkward expression as she saw Jane standing behind the doctor with her eyebrows raised. Maura followed her gaze and turned around. She chuckled when she saw Jane.

"Hey there." She smiled.

"Why do you two always have to talk about me?" Jane asked with fake exhaustion.

"Well what else would we talk about? You're our most common interest." Maura said logically. Jane thought about it for a moment. This was probably true.

She was going to reply when her mother's gaze caught her eye. She hadn't even noticed but she'd put her hand instinctively on Maura's hip from behind. It didn't seem that Maura had noticed either. Unfortunately the only one who had noticed was the matriarch- and she loved it.

Jane pulled her hand away quickly and crossed her arms. "What?" Jane asked her mother a little defensively. "What's the look for?" Maura bit her lip awkwardly. She'd forgotten to mention to Jane that Angela was aware of their newfound relationship…

Angela just grinned, not showing any sign of replying. Her eyes darted between them both happily. They were still standing very close, their shoulders actually touching. Jane sighed as she saw what Angela was staring at and took a self-conscious step away from Maura. Maura noticed this and smirked.

"Oh I can't hold this in any longer," Angela shook her head. "I am so happy for you both!" She outburst and pulled them both into a tight hug. Maura couldn't even move her hand from her sides, they were trapped there. She laughed anyway.

Jane sighed as Angela was finally releasing them from her tight embrace. "Mauuraaa you told her? We talked about this!" She whined.

"She tricked me into telling her last night. She came in when we were on the couch, you were asleep." Maura defended herself.

"_You weren't going to tell me_!?" Angela outraged loudly.

Korsak looked over with a confused expression. What was going on over there?

Frankie also glanced over with concern from the sofa. "Ma, you ok?" He shouted over to them.

"She's fine!" Jane shouted back grumpily. "Butt out."

"Fine." He raised his eyebrows. "Jeez." He muttered quietly to himself. He turned back around. What was going on over there? He was soon distracted as Nina started telling them a funny story from her first day as a Rookie. He quickly got engaged in the story and completely forgot about whatever was going on in the kitchen with his sister and mother.

Angela's smile returned. "Okay, it doesn't matter because I know now."

Jane's face softened and she looked at Maura. Maura took her hand and gave it a squeeze. This seemed like quite a difficult moment for Jane.

"You're really okay with this?" Jane asked her mom softly. She seemed rather more vulnerable now. Had Jane and Angela never spoken about sexuality at all? _Maybe this was a bit bigger than I thought, _Maura questioned to herself.

Angela nodded. "I am more than okay with this Jane. I am overjoyed. You couldn't have chosen a better person." She said honestly.

Maura was a little taken aback. She was getting so many compliments today. She was having a little trouble absorbing them. It was overwhelming in a nice way.

Jane nodded and looked at Maura. "Yes, she's absolutely perfect."

Maura blushed. "No, that's really not true-" She began politely.

Jane nodded as she looked at her. "It is. You're perfect to me." She said quietly. Maura's face lit up and she couldn't help but lean forward give a chaste kiss.

From the counter Korsak choked on his beer. Angela looked over at him and laughed. Luckily for Jane's 'keeping it quiet for now' plan, nobody had looked up from the couch, the trio were now laughing about some story Tommy had just told about T.J.

Angela walked around the counter and patted his shoulder. "I know Vince. They shocked me too. I never thought they'd actually act on their feelings." She said warmly.

He nodded and the aging pair watched as Jane and Maura happily chatted in the corner. They were standing closely and occasionally touching one another's arms as they spoke. He looked at Angela and how content she looked just watching them. "You really wanted them to be together didn't you?"

"Oh Vince you have no idea." She laughed.

* * *

An hour passed of casual socializing and everyone had shifted about to new places of the room. Frankie was now chatting to Sergeant Korsak in the kitchen about a recent case, Angela was excessively asking Tommy if he was doing okay with T.J and Jane, Maura and Nina were now all sitting in the living room.

"So Nina, do you have a boyfriend? Husband?" Jane casually asked her.

Nina smiled politely and shook her head. "No I don't actually. I just came out of a long term relationship." She gave a sad shrug.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." Maura said sympathetically.

"It's okay." Nina said appreciatively. "It was for the best. It was my decision actually."

"Oh I see." Maura nodded. "So has anyone else caught your eye lately?" She lifted one leg over the other to get more comfortable. She was occupying the sofa with Jane and Nina was on the armchair a little slanted to face them. Maura smiled as she noticed the white fluffy blanket bunched up at the corner of the couch. They'd slept here. She thought a little guiltily. She shook away the thought as she realised that didn't matter at all. They could have done far worse…

"You okay Dr Isles?" Nina asked, watching Maura internal debate take place with her expressions.

Jane looked at her and laughed. "Maur?" She gave Maura's thigh a brief stroke with the back of her hand to get her attention. Nina noticed this quite personal form of contact and raised an eyebrow.

Maura looked at Jane and smiled. She picked up Jane's hand and casually just started playing with her fingers without really noticing. Jane didn't seem to mind either. _There was definitely something here_, Nina thought to herself.

"I got a bit lost in my train of thought." Maura said to Nina.

"It's quite alright." Their colleague smiled. She glanced down at their hands again. Maura followed her gaze and sheepishly let go of Jane's hand.

"Oh." Jane blushed, taking her hand back.

"Oh don't worry about me." Nina smiled. "I'm cool with whatever thing you have going. You don't need to hide anything."

Maura smiled to her and Jane nodded. "We're not really- we're sort of not sharing this." The detective stuttered as she badly tried to explain.

"My lips are sealed." Nina gave a light shrug.

Maura still didn't know why Jane cared what people thought of her but she appreciated Nina for being loyal even when she hardly knew them. Nina seemed like a real asset to the team. She seen herself how good Nina's skills were in action and everyone at the precinct seemed impressed with the newbie.

"How long have been together?" She asked kindly. Jane looked at Maura and laughed.

"A whole day," Maura said a little shyly.

"Wow, okay." Nina smiled. "-Very new then." She smiled. She wondered how it had started. Whether this had been a long term love thing or had just begun with some kind of sex incident. That was a weird thing to thing about her co-workers. She shook the thought away. She knew it was none of her business anyway.

She didn't even know these people that well but she liked who she'd met at the precinct so far. Everyone had been very welcoming to her and she really appreciated it. She'd done a little work with Dr Isles so she knew that she was very skilled in her field.

Nina looked up as she saw Jane's mother approaching behind them. Jane didn't notice before it was too late. Angela leant down between them and kissed Jane's cheek followed by Maura's. Jane lifted her shoulders up defensively and Maura just laughed when she got hers. Nina smiled at the sight. They really were a close group weren't they? What a nice family Jane had.

She watched in amusement as Jane didn't seem to think so. She gave Maura's shoulder a quick squeeze and then promptly escaped to the kitchen to join the boys. Jane seemed more at home there. She grabbed a beer, bit off the lid and spat it into the bin. Her youngest brother high-fived her and then with a couple of minutes the three siblings had started loudly shouting their disagreements with each other about some Red Sox player.

"Excuse my kids." Angela said to Nina. "Quiet doesn't run in the family." She smiled. "Unlike doctor Isles here." She gave Maura a little nudge.

Maura smiled. "I'm not quiet." Ironically, she said rather quietly. She picked up her glass of wine from the coffee table and took a sip.

"Trust me Maura; you don't want to be loud anyway." Angela said. They all looked over just as Jane and Tommy started arguing about something.

"Shut it Tommy." Jane hissed loudly. "You know I can throw a punch."

It seemed like they'd all had one too many beers now. Korsak was standing beside Frankie. Both just watching to see if this was going to turn physical. They were ready to jump in and grab one each.

"So how long you been fucking her?" Tommy taunted.

Maura's eyes widened and she stood up. Why did Tommy even care about her relationship with Jane?

Tommy was met with a hard blow to the jaw. He lunged at her but was grabbed back just in time by his elder brother. Maura was quickly by Jane's side.

"What was that all about?" The pathologist asked her worriedly.

"He was being a dick." Jane scowled at him as she said it. He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't act on her words. Despite the height different, Jane won nearly every single fight with Tommy and they both new that. He didn't want to risk getting beat up by his big sister in front of all these people. Even if half of them had seen it happen before.

"Come on." Maura said, taking her hand. "I know the perfect place we could go."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks for all the lovely feedback. As for the person who wasn't sure what episode this fic came from: Like it says in the summary it's from 5x10. Myself and all the other avid-fan Europeans tend to watch it live-stream (2am for us) or simply the episode online the following day. I usually choose the latter... So we are up to date with the episodes. :)

I hope you enjoy this final chapter. We need something uplifting after that finale! Enjoy!

* * *

"Where are we going?" Jane asked with a slightly nervous smile.

Maura had instructed her to grab two of her the jumpers from her bedroom (one each) and then to meet her in the car. The doctor had said swift and polite goodbyes to both Angela and Nina, also giving Frankie a friendly smile before heading out to the car herself. It was a little odd saying goodbye to people who were still present in your house but oh well, they'd leave soon enough and she trusted them not to cause any trouble there. Angela would keep the boys in check. She knew that for certain.

They were sitting in the car now, driving through the quiet streets of Boston. It was crazy how the city transformed in the absence of daylight. The centre got busier and brighter and the rest of the city was simply silent, deserted almost. It wasn't even that late but it was late enough for people to be considering going to bed. Jane was curious as to where the medical examiner was taking her. Being a homicide detective, she knew probably more so than anyone that Boston wasn't the safest place at the best of times.

"It's a surprise." Maura said with raised eyebrows. "You'll like it. I think it should be nice." She took a left turn, drove for five minutes and took a right. After another left turn she briefly glanced at Jane. "Just trust me."

Jane looked at her and smiled. "I already do."

* * *

The Boston Common was stunning. The park was laced with the bright moonlight and additionally lit with golden fairy-lights. Lining the main pathway through the park were trees entwined glowing lights around their trunks. The sky was black, dotted with stars and the moon was full and glistening. It was absolutely stunning, borderline magical.

"Maura this is so beautiful." The detective said in awe. Upon arriving at the Common, they had stopped still to admire the beautiful scene. Jane had never been to that park before at night, it was such a contrast to the loud, bustling daytime, full of screaming kids and stressed out parents. It was quite the opposite now, there was nothing but silk silence here.

Maura gazed in wonder and slowly entwined their fingers together. "I've never actually had enough time to admire the beauty of this park before. It is quite spectacular." She tucked a strand of blonde behind her ear and turned to face Jane.

After a moment she said, "How are you feeling about tonight?"

Jane gave her half a smile and shrugged. "I'm fine, really. The thing with Tommy was nothing. We fight all the time."

"It didn't sound like nothing." The medical examiner stated with concern. They began to slowly walk hand in hand down the strip of path separating the two sides of green and glowing light.

"Maura I think he still has feelings for you. You guys had that little thing and I guess he hasn't gotten over it yet so maybe he's pissed at me."

Maura stopped and looked at her. "Well he has no right to be. It's you that I want to be with Jane. He can't be bitter towards you just because I didn't want to be with him in that way. That's not fair to you."

"Maura it's fine. You're sweet for caring but trust me; I can deal with him. He's not a problem." She smiled to her. Maura nodded and softly smiled back. She let go of Jane's hand and decided to link their arms instead. She pulled herself closer to the detective and smiled as Jane lifted her arm up and wrapped it around her, pulling her close against her side instead. She huddled close to her as they walked and relished how warm and safe she felt with Jane's arm around her.

They walked for half an hour or so down the long path through the Common just happily conversing about work topics and recent events. The detective had also asked Maura about her French boarding school, a topic they'd never particularly discussed before. Maura told her fond tales of her time there as well as some lonely ones too although Maura didn't see them that way.

Jane didn't understand how Maura had so few friends as a teenager. The nerdiness may have put off a few people but couldn't they at least see her beautiful personality? It was in plain sight.

Everyone who had met her knew how selfless and kind-hearted the blonde was. Maybe back then she was just too shy; too quiet and content spending time alone to attract people into her life. It annoyed her however because it shouldn't have been that way. She had mentioned before how little she asked of her adoptive parents and consequently how little they gave, not even in a harsh way. She spoke like it was just the way it was. She shouldn't have had to ask for their affection, for their time. They should have given her those things anyway. She seemed more like a piece of furniture to them- an addition to their vast collection of collectables.

Jane had taking this up with Constance before. She'd given her an earful on how Maura deserved to be treated and thankfully the woman seemed to have taken it on board at least to some extent. Soon after that however Maura's birth mother had to come into the picture and been yet another disappointment to Maura. It physically angered her how the doctor's family treated her so badly, so carelessly. Even now, her birth mother and half sister spoke to her a little apprehensively. It was understandable how much of a shock that the knowledge of Maura's existence had been to them but once they found out they should have embraced her, not shunned her.

"What are you thinking about?" Maura asked curiously. Jane hadn't said anything for a few minutes and appeared to be in deep thought.

The brunette gave her shoulder a squeeze with her hand and smiled to her. "Nothing really." She said quietly with a shrug, glancing at the picturesque park around them.

"It looked like something." Maura observed, watching Jane from the corner of her eye. A few ducks taking off from the lake broke the natural silence that followed. The sky was black as coal and the fairy-lights were still a glittering contrast. She looked up at the jewels embedded in the obsidian. "You know, I love the sky at night. It really makes you think anything's possible."

Jane looked up and felt soothed by the vast darkness. "It really does." She nodded and they continued to walk. "I was just thinking about the kind of life you deserve."

Maura paused and looked at her. "You were thinking about me?" She seemed a little stunned.

"Maura I'm nearly always thinking about you." Jane smiled as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "For years I've always worried about you and despised people who had upset you or done you wrong. I loved so much that you were becoming part of my family- I still do, and well Hoyt partly hurt me so much because I was scared of what he would do to you. He knew you were my biggest weakness." Jane looked down. "I guess he knew my love for you even before I did."

"We got through Hoyt together." Maura nodded. "The whole of BPD got through this together but especially you, Korsak and Frost were-"

"-_And you_."

"-And me." Maura smiled. "Well we all worked together Jane and we beat him. We won."

"We didn't exactly win Maura. I still felt like that's what he wanted. That he won all along."

"Okay, answer me this. Is he bothering you anymore?"

"No."

"Is he threatening to hurt either you or the people you love?"

"No."

"Did all the hard work you did finally give families some closure? Some justice?"

"Yes."

"Is he torturing or killing innocent people anymore?"

"No."

"Then I think that's your answer, you won Jane. That man of all men had what was coming to him. After all the awful things he did to people, all the innocent victims, that man deserved to die, Jane. And that is coming right from my heart."

"Maur you're a medical examiner, you're not supposed to wish death upon people. Jane said with a light humour.

"I may be a medical examiner but as a human being I'm think I'm entitled to wish death upon people hypothetically every so often. I think I'm allowed to say that…" Maura lightly shrugged with a soft smile. "No, actually I'm sure I am. He hurt you so therefore I am allowed to say that." Jane looked at her lovingly and nodded, understanding the feeling. They walked mostly in silence for another ten minutes or so.

"It's so nice to be able to spend time with you alone like this. When we're with loads of people it's what I really want. Even as your friend I just craved to have little moments like this. It's selfish to say it but I love it when I get Maura Isles all to myself. No Ma, no Tommy, no Frankie, No Susie, Korsak, _Nina_ who's apparently a new member of the group." Jane smiled.

"Yes it looks like it and I agree. Don't think I don't want my Jane moments too." She kissed her cheek. "And as for Nina, I think she's settling in very well. She seems to be getting very comfortable with a certain colleague of yours as well." The doctor smiled mischievously.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jane smirked. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders again as they continued to aimlessly stroll.

"Well I think I may see a little spark between her and your brother. I really hope it develops into something. They really would make a good match: they have similar interests, both dedicated to the profession, both with a good sense of humour and both like beer apparently- Although actually, I also rather liked the idea of your brother and senior criminalist Susie Chang. There was some real chemistry there."

"Maura have you been matchmaking my brother?" Jane smirked but managed to sustain her accusatory tone.

"What!" She said defensively. "_Only in my head_." Maura smiled. "You must agree with both of my choices though Jane."

"Maura I'm not going to talk about possible dates for my brother. It's weird! It's his business. Well unless it involves you… Then it is my business." Jane gave her a playful nudge.

"Jane I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I wanted to say that nothing serious happened with Frankie and I-"

"Hey it's okay. You don't have to justify yourself." Jane said honestly. "Although you are making your way around the Rizzoli's aren't _you_?" Jane smirked. "_3/3 not bad_."

"Hey!" Maura swatted her arm. "That is so not how it is! Neither of the things with your brothers was serious. It really didn't mean anything Jane and I'm sorry that it happened in this order. It honestly meant nothing with them."

She knew Maura was telling the truth but she raised her eyebrows and smirked anyway. Her smile faltered as Maura grabbed her shoulders and looked at her directly. "I mean it Jane. I love _you_. I know you're joking around right now but I wanted to set it straight. I'd hate for you to think that you were just one of three." Maura looked away embarrassedly. Jane didn't understand why until she realised that she had tears in her eyes.

"Woah, hey, Maur." She raised her arms to hold her forearms. "I know." She said softly. "I don't feel that way, I promise. I'm sorry, I know." Jane said honestly. It was obvious now that she'd been suffering as much as she had. She knew how serious this was for Maura.

"I'm sorry." Maura smiled a little tearily. "I'm just still astonished that you want this, with me. It hasn't hit home yet."

"Maura I want this more than anything. I promise. I love you too. I really do. You are my favourite person in the whole world and I couldn't be happier that you feel this way about me. I still feels like I'm about to wake up from a dream."

"You're making me feel like a teenager." She blushed. "It's as if I have a large amount of Rhopalocera building in my stomach."

"Ew." Jane smirked. "Wait- is that google talk for butterflies?"

"I believe so." Maura smiled modestly. "The sensation is caused by a reduction of blood flow to the organ. This is as a result of the release of adrenaline in the fight-or-flight response, which causes increased heart rate and blood pressure, consequently sending more blood to the muscles." The doctor looked up at Jane and blushed again. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that." She said shyly.

Jane simply smiled, revelling in her cuteness. "You are adorable Maura Isles. -And I feel like a teenager too..." She said more shyly. "I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time every time I look at you."

Maura looked at her, the comment making her heart flutter more than she could ever explain with science. She pulled Jane softly against her. The detective smiled and wrapped her arms around her back. They stood in the warm embrace for a couple of minutes; Maura's head sleepily resting on Jane's shoulder and a smile present on both of their lips.

As they pulled away Jane slanted her head to place a soft kiss on Maura's cheek. The doctor shook her head and placed her palm on Jane's cheek, pulling her in. She gave her a proper kiss.

With the moon shining brightly, the nurturing silence around them and Dr Isles against her lips, Jane could not have felt happier. As they pulled away they stopped to just look at each other, something they did very often without ever really noticing. Neither knew then what those looks meant, but they did now. This was different now. This was adoration in its truest form. This was 'I love you' in a gaze; and they both knew it. It was suddenly all so clear.

"The past four years seem clear to me now," Jane whispered to her, their foreheads touching.

My nodded and bit her lip, looking up at her through her eyelashes. "I know exactly what you mean." She leaned forward slowly and connected their lips once again.

In that moment they felt the world had stopped. It was just them in the glowing desolate park surrounded by the silent city. All Jane could hear were Maura's quiet breaths and the distant sound of traffic. She could feel her soft hands against her jaw and couldn't help but simply love everything about her. This was only just the beginning.

They smiled against each other's lips. They both knew at that exact moment that they had started something truly amazing.

* * *

:)


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